Goodness is a relative term for most people. What people consider good can vary depending on philosophy, culture, and even religion. But if we were to ask the Bible, what does goodness mean?

During the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was called a lot of things, and one of these descriptions is the word “good master.” Yet he says that only God is good. Why does he do this? It is because the one saying it did not believe that He was God, and so it gave the wrong idea that men can be good, when the truth is man is a sinner.

So just with that single instance, we can already conclude how the Bible sees goodness. It is a characteristic of God, and He alone has this perfect goodness in Him. Man tries to be good, but cannot, that is why Jesus needed to die to impute His righteousness upon mankind.